


waterlogged lizards

by blubird1208



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: 80's Music, Alternate Universe - No Forgetting (IT), Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Richie Tozier, Reddie, Summer Romance, Sweet Kisses, a whisper of benverly, sun-kissed fluff, the other losers are mentioned but not in it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28994556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blubird1208/pseuds/blubird1208
Summary: richie tozier thinks the summers were made for eddie kaspbrak. the type of long hot days that left you warm all over. the sun that shines just for him. he’s immortalized here.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	waterlogged lizards

**Author's Note:**

> playlist  
> \- everybody wants to rule the world - tears for fears  
> \- boys don't cry - the cure  
> \- running up that hill - kate bush  
> \- africa - toto  
> \- i think we're alone now - tiffany  
> \- here comes the sun - the beatles 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ap16aBPOKYxUAU6WnPWQJ
> 
> https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/waterlogged-lizards/pl.u-kv9lRmLI4r1vkPm?ls
> 
> tw: there's undertones of some homophobic shit 'cause it's derry in the early 90's (it's only mentioned not an active thing) but! it's mostly sunny fluff
> 
> dedicated to jae

**_there's a room where the light won't find you_ **

**_holding hands while the walls come tumbling down_ **

**_when they do i'll be right behind you_ **

richie tozier thinks the summers were made for eddie kaspbrak. the type of long hot days that left you warm all over. the sun that shines just for him. he’s immortalized here. with his sunglasses on because  _ you’ll be 25 with smile lines richie!  _ and his hair, long enough so it curls just so at the ends. his nose and shoulders spotted with his “summer freckles”, his smile is brighter now too. in a war with the sun. he tans, richie burns, but eddie tans. he’s a modern day adonis pulled right from the warm months, the air that makes you feel young and important, the feeling of everything and nothing all at once.  _ everybody wants to rule the world _ is playing faintly somewhere in the background and eddie turns and smiles at richie. he knows right then, that summer was made for eddie kaspbrak, and only eddie kaspbrak. the tides don’t change, the earth doesn’t spin, the sun doesn’t shine for anyone else.

at least that’s how it feels. 

it’s a movie moment. this is when richie should lean over, brush that stray curl out of eddie’s face and press a honey-sweet kiss to his lips. it’s all been leading up to this. it always has been. god how could he have ever thought it wasn’t? 

when he was seven and he was positive the  _ only  _ person that ever mattered was his best friend, eddie kaspbrak. 

or when he was thirteen and the ghosts of touches during  _ street fighter _ made his insides twist and flutter. 

maybe during late nights when they were 15 and richie would sneak through eddie’s window. present him with a new mixtape, one that had all his favorites, his comfort songs, the ones he was embarrassed to love, the ones he would only dance with richie to. 

here and now; 18 years old, sweaty and fuzzy, slightly damp from their swim in the quarry. it’s just richie and eddie. beverly isn’t here, hasn’t been here for a long time. she calls and sends letters all the time, but it hurts, isn’t the same. richie misses her, sometimes so much it aches. stan, mike and bill had made plans to hangout, probably packing or, being adults. preparing for grown up life. bens probably shopping, packing, and fucking vibrating. he’s road tripping it and hauling ass to visit beverly and has been jittery all summer. 

richie and eddie are tanning, or burning, while laying on some hot rocks like fucking lizards or something. they rode their bikes around town and jumped into the quarry like they were 13 again. a desperate attempt at reliving their youth, while they still had the chance. except eddie lost his baby fat, and he’s toned, and tan, and freckled, and so so beautiful. and richie is gangly and  _ tall  _ and unbelievably in love with the specimen to his right. the one who’s smiling over at him right now. god his smile is wonderful. it’s the smile that makes his eyes crinkle at the corners and his nose scrunch a bit - though richie can’t see his eyes right now.

“where’re you lost at tozier?” eddie asked, turning on his side to face richie. richie smiles a little, just a small private thing, and exhales. 

_ do or fucking die tozier.  _

_ now or fucking never  _

“just thinkin’ ‘bout your mom, gorgeous. gonna miss her,” richie whispers, batting his eyelashes at eddie. 

eddie chuckles and shakes his head, “shut up trashmouth, c’mon be honest, you’re all  _ moony  _ over there.” 

it’s hot, it’s mid july, the music has switch to _ boys don’t cry _ , and richie  _ really  _ isn’t thinking straight. he’s drunk on like the fuckin sun and eddie’s little smile and the grains of dirt clinging to his ankle; like sad sand. 

**_So I try to laugh about it_ **

**_Cover it all up with lies_ **

**_I try to laugh about it_ **

**_Hiding the tears in my eyes_ **

**_'Cause boys don't cry_ **

**_Boys don't cry_ **

**_I would tell you that I loved you_ **

**_If I thought that you would stay_ **

**_But I know that it's no use_ **

**_That you've already gone away_ **

so because without a doubt, richie was drunk on the sun, and not in his right mind. naturally. he could not be blamed for running his mouth. 

really, it always seems to take off without him.

“remember, when, sarah jones wouldn’t stop flirting with you that day, it was our annual p.e. day-long thingy. we had to sit in the hot april sun for hours and pretend to give a shit about the  _ long jump  _ or fuckin’  _ field advents.  _ i don’t know, but we were 16 and she spent the entire morning just  _ talking.”  _

eddie screwed his eyebrows together, a deep crease in the middle, “yeah, and you ended up twisting your ankle just to beat me in the 100 meter dash.” 

“yeah, but i didn’t win, and everyone thought i was doing it because  _ i  _ liked sarah and was jealous she was showing an interest in you.” 

eddie nodded, face not betraying where his head was at. he just kept looking at richie with open eyes. having pushed his glasses into his waves a few beats ago.

richie sighed, letting his head flop back. 

“i wasn’t, i didn’t like  _ her _ , alright? i liked  _ you _ . but it’s the fuckin’ 90’s and you’re a  _ gorgeous boy  _ and we live in fuckknowswhere. we live in homophobe central. i was scared shitless. so i did dumb shit like that. i sprained my ankle to get you alone and i wouldn’t get out of a hammock so you’d have to share with me, and i  _ begged  _ bill to let me be the one to teach you how to drive because i couldn’t pass up spending hours in a car with you while you freaked out and told me to shut up. and all those afternoons reading comics and playing games and drowning each other in _ water we never should have been in _ .” 

richie stops to scrub a hand over his face and convince himself  _ not to look over at eddie. i cannot handle the look of disgust or disappointment.  _

“watching bad horror movies and dancing to shitty 80’s pop is only appealing because it meant getting to have eddie kaspbrak nuzzle into my chest or jump around my living room with me. and oh my god dancing with you is the best because you’re really good at it and you get a little blush on your cheeks and you just  _ are.  _ it’s not about your mom being horrible or us getting bullied or any insecurities, it was always just us and music and my mom spying on us and pretending she wasn’t but maggie tozier is  _ not  _ sneaky.” richie let’s a small chuckle bubble out of his chest. eyes closed.  _ running up that hill _ is buzzing. “i think she knew i was in love with you before i did.” 

**_Is there so much hate for the ones we love?_ **

**_Tell me, we both matter, don't we?_ **

**_You, it's you and me_ **

**_It's you and me, won't be unhappy_ **

**_And if I only could_ **

**_I'd make a deal with God_ **

**_And I'd get him to swap our places_ **

  
  


a tiny sniffle makes richie snap his eyes open. eddie is looking at him, wide-eyes, sunglasses pushed into his hair, silent tears falling down his face. he’s worrying his bottom lip. 

“woah hey eds, no tears, those are for special occasions like finding out you got into college and...i don’t know, church?” richie reaches out and wipes eddie’s cheeks, bringing his hand back to his chest. 

“this isn’t a funny joke richie.”

richie blinked. 

a beat of silence. 

“why- i’m not joking eds.” 

eddie, barely above a whisper, almost like he’s scared if he says it too loud it won’t be true, it’ll be snatched away, “so richie tozier, is in love with  _ me _ .” 

it wasn’t confused, or angry, or disgusted. it was said like a fact, but dangerously close to bordering on wistful or astonished. 

“i...i know you’re off to college in a bit, and i’m going too but not the same place, and i’m not, i’m not looking for you to say you feel like the same, yeah? i just needed you to know. i guess. this kinda got away from me to be honest. it’s been harboring since like forever and it just felt like something you deserved to know. bev and stan know. they bullied it out of me by being nice and  _ loving.  _ well stan was just sarcastic but that’s his love. and every time, every time i thought, you know  _ maybe?  _ well okay there was one time, we had to be 14, and i thought, you know, wouldn’t it be nice if he was too? if  _ you  _ were too. but, well i think i thought; no if he did, if he was, it would be for bill.” 

eddie smiled faintly, almost embarrassed, “i, is it my turn?” 

“oh yes have the stage dr. k. unless you’re going to like spit on me or kick me for being queer, that wouldn’t be fun for anyone,” richie chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.  _ africa  _ hums and hums. 

**_It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you_ **

**_There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do_ **

**_I bless the rains down in Africa_ **

**_Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)_ **

“i’m not going to  _ spit  _ on you, that would be so gross. what the fuck richie? anyway the floor is mine shut up. okay, first of all fucker,”  _ there’s the eddie i know,  _ “i  _ did  _ have a crush on bill when we were like  _ twelve.  _ it was mostly misplaced idolization and admiration but he’s never been ugly so,” this bitch shrugs, “yeah i know the kid who got called a  _ girly boy  _ for most his life turned out gay, how very funny. not the main point though, don’t get distracted richie. right so okay, you know how i would always say my mom didn’t allow me to go to school dances?” richie nodded. “right we’ll, she did actually, i just liked dancing with you instead. you put those horrible glow in the dark stars on your ceiling (eddie’s too) and we would dance under your purple light and just- it was better you know? it was you and me? why do you think i spent my prom with you the whole time rich? it’s always been you.  _ god _ , remember that big blow up, me and my mom had at the beginning of summer? it wasn’t just about college -stop looking so confused i’m getting there- she also, apperently, picked up on my non-heterosexual vibes and confronted me. she was convinced, so very sure, that you had, and i quote, “soiled my good virtue and touched me in inappropriate ways”. stop laughing. it wasn’t funny. i got really mad, because she wouldn’t believe me no matter what, so i finally,  _ very calmly,  _ told her if i ever  _ got richie tozier to touch me in inappropriate ways i would not shut up about it, you’d know mom!  _ anyway, fucker, the point is, you don’t have this tragic unrequited love story. it’s very requited.” 

_ i think we’re alone now  _ filled the silence that followed. 

**_I think we're alone now,_ **

**_There doesn't seem to be anyone around_ **

**_I think we're alone now,_ **

**_The beating of our hearts is the only sound_ **

**_Look at the way we gotta hide what we're doin'_ **

**_'Cause what would they say_ **

**_If they ever knew_ **

richie, who was a bit dumbfounded, proceeded to gape like a fuckin fish. 

“oh my god, just fucking kiss me richie.” 

yeah alright that works too. 

richie will forever romanticize his first eddie-kiss like any sane person would. but not because of what you think. or how most movies and books made it seem. it was fucking awful, richie rushed forward and overcalculated so their mouths clashed and eddie inhaled sharply and they didn’t line up right and it was just blatantly awkward. but eddie had long lashes that gave him butterfly kisses, and his lips are fucking soft, and he  _ smells  _ and  _ feels  _ like eddie. and he inhaled sharply so he exhales onto richies cheek and he breaks off to rest his forehead against richie’s and laugh. and it’s them so yeah it wasn’t great but it was also  _ the best _ . 

and then they try again. 

and it’s better. softer. careful. and even if they really were horrible at kissing, it would continue to just feel right. 

because. it’s. them. 

richieandeddie. 

and they pull away, forehead to forehead, and eddie is smiling so fondly it almost breaks richie's heart. 

“you’re sweet,” richie murmurs and kisses right below the edge of eddie’s right eye. 

“fuck off asshole.” 

but eddie slings his arms around richies neck and kisses him again. 

so you know what? maybe they will be alright. 

maybe, they get an apartment at some point in new york and richie will try too hard and maybe just be funny enough to be a comedian or a stage presence or a radio host and eddie will use his brain and analyzation skills to be something smart, a corporate businessman. 

they’re young, but they have shitty music and a kinda connection most people only dream or read about.

it could all go to shit and eddie could just be richies  _ once.  _ his forever lost love. 

but maybe the odds can fuck off and let them make their own decision for once. 

“we’re gonna be all right eds.” 

“we always woulda been rich, we’ll be just fine.” 

and  _ here comes the sun  _ sees them holding hands and laughing at themselves. 

they’re all right. 

**_Here comes the sun do, do, do_ **

**_Here comes the sun_ **

**_And I say it's all right_ **

_the end_

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> \- i hope you enjoyed <3 
> 
> \- i probably wouldn't have finished this without jae encouraging me so; shoutout to her. 
> 
> \- this was entirely a self-indulgent au type excuse for me to write about the gays, the romanticization of summer, and 80's music.


End file.
